


Let's Eat Our Words

by ForensicSpider98



Series: Love After the Fact [15]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Cultural Differences, All this stress is bad for the baby, Altean Adam (Voltron), Altean Prince Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Aromantic Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Balmeran Hunk (Voltron), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Galra Shiro (Voltron), Galran Prince Keith (Voltron), Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Moral Ambiguity, Moral Dilemmas, Multi, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Olkari Pidge | Katie Holt, Post-War, it's keith. keith is the baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23112940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForensicSpider98/pseuds/ForensicSpider98
Summary: Lance has a talk with his father.ALSO, I MADE 'ALTEAN ADAM (VOLTRON)' A TAG!!! It wasn't when I started and I'm so happy it is now!
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Alfor/Coran (Voltron), Allura/Lotor/Romelle (Voltron), Haggar/Zarkon (Voltron), Hunk & Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Love After the Fact [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1635043
Comments: 12
Kudos: 231





	Let's Eat Our Words

Lance is almost certain that Keith isn’t joining them for dinner. He’s currently hiding in his loft after a courtier asked him to his face if he was pregnant yet. Lance had politely yet firmly asked them to leave, but the damage had been done, and his exceptionally shy spouse had asked to be excused. Lance had readily agreed, letting the prince go off to rub his ears or whatever. In all truth, Lance would have gone after him to ensure he was alright, but he suspected that Keith had genuinely wanted to be alone.

It can’t feel good, Lance suspects, to be told to your face that you’re a commodity, only there to serve one purpose and he'd better do it fast before they've had it with him. Lance wants to do more to make Keith feel like a whole person.

“So… Father.” Lance looks up from his dinner.

“Yes, Lance?” Alfor glances up from his datapad -because the kings are allowed datapads at the table- and looks at his son. “What is it?”

It’s the first time in a phoeb that Lance has spoken directly to his father outside of work. “I have a favor to ask.”

“I’m listening.” Alfor slides the datapad to Coran, letting Lance know his attention is undivided. Lance appreciates, treasures that. He only has slivers of memories where Alfor felt like a father. He knows they both have regrets.

“Winter is coming soon. I would like to go hunting before that happens.” Lance pauses. “I’d like to take Keith with me. Just us.”

“Your reasoning?”

“I thought it might be good for us to get away together. Meet some of the people. See something nice. He still doesn’t like it here. I thought if he saw more of it-”

“Saw the brothels, you mean? Absolutely not, Lancel. That wasn’t acceptable behavior before and now I must put my foot down-”

“Keith is a kit. I would _never_ take him to the brothels. This exchange has been traumatizing enough, I think. Rather, I might take him to the florist, since he seems to like plants, the glass-smith to see about some windchimes, and perhaps to visit Hunk, since he's my friend and very friendly and it might do Keith some good in addition to providing an opportunity to thank Hunk for providing him with food he can actually eat. Furthermore, there are a few places in the woods I think he might enjoy. Especially the grotto, as he says he likes to swim. _The point is_ that this is meant to be his _home_ , but it's more like his prison.” Lance sits back in his chair, glaring at his father, challenging him to argue.

Alfor’s face shifts are the mention of the grotto, where he taught both his children to swim. The king regards his son, his youngest child. He still looks like a boy. A wounded, angry one, after his comment.

“Forgive me, son. I was quite unfair. I can see that you have put a great deal of thought into this, and into Keith's well-being. I will make sure your duties are taken care of if you wish to take Keith around, but I must ask that you take an afternoon or a morning at a time, and work the rest. It’s far more manageable.”

“Shall we also restrict our excursions to every other quintant as well?”

“Please. I agree that it would be beneficial for him, but-”

“The people come first. Of course. However, may we have the afternoon tomorrow, while Hunk is off?”

Alfor smiles at his son. Lance has been working hard to catch up with the work he’s been letting slide for the past five decaphoebs. He’s making progress, at which point his workload should become more manageable. Then one quintant, he will be crowned king and once again be overworked. Judging by what the Listener has said, Lance still does not understand how valuable progeny is. He will if he gets to be Alfor’s age and still has no children. Even with children, a king's burden is nothing to sneeze at. The fact that his son is all but a stranger to him is testament to that.

But he’s getting ahead of himself. Lance is young, boyish in many, many ways. An adult by law and responsibility, but a boy in most everything else. His spouse, his husband, is _literally_ a boy, old enough, but not at all an adult. 

Alfor won’t admit it to anyone but Coran, but he had assumed that, given ‘Lord Yorak’s’ age, he would be mostly grown out of his kitten ways. Instead, to his genuine heartbreak and regret, Keith has not at all grown out of his adolescence, and apparently will not until his final growth spurt.

“Go on. Take him to meet Hunk. I suspect they’ll get along. Perhaps he’ll spend more time with Hunk in the kitchens instead of hiding or wandering aimlessly.”

“I’ll show him how to find the kitchens and Pidge. He likes Pidge. And I need to threaten the guards with clerical duties if they don't stop ignoring him when he tries to talk to them.”

“I shall threaten them as well. And good. I’m glad he likes someone… Do you think he would prefer having his own room?”

“No. It would be worse. He won’t sleep if he’s on his own. He sleeps next to me. A lot of times, I help him fall asleep…” Lance’s eyes find his face. “You didn’t know, did you? Exactly how young he was.”

Intuitive. Lance is intuitive. He has that power of perception that Alfor himself lacks. Taking a second to commit that fact to memory, Alfor clings to it, tries to stretch it out, inflate it until it fills the space where a father-child bond should be.

“I knew. I just didn’t know what it would mean for him. I’m sorry, Lance.” Alfor puts a hand on his son’s arm. “Thank you for taking good care of him.”

“I _like_ him. He deserves better than this.”

“I agree, he does. But the deed is done, and now we must simply do everything we can, starting by helping him feel more comfortable here.”

“Yes, sir.”

Keith trails in a minute later, bathed and dressed. Seems he’s feeling better. He and Coran exchange greetings as he slides into his seat next to Lance. Lance lightly tugs on the end of the Galra’s braid. Keith seems baffled and a little defensive at Lance’s handling, but he relaxes when he sees Lance’s smile, smiles as Lance murmurs some reassuring word.

Alfor sighs in relief. At least the two seem to be getting along.

**Author's Note:**

> Next time on Love After the Fact: Keith makes another new friend.


End file.
